A Piece of the Whole Truth
by Pomatobastardos
Summary: And it all started with an avalanche.


**Summary:****And it all started with an avalanche.**

**Warnings: Character deaths**

**A/N:**** Merry Christmas everybody! This is dedicated to a certain someone we've deprived this story of. (We love you Jess sorry about chapter 1 only :P)**

**We hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Hetalia: Axis Powers. We play with the characters like little dolls though~  
**

* * *

For the Bad Friends Trio, the story of their friendship was one they loved to retell countless times. Antonio would be the one to smile, Francis would chuckle and Gilbert would slam his hands on the desk and beg endlessly to be the one to retell it. The three, having known each other as frenemies for so long, thought it to be unnatural for them to have clicked together so perfectly. Time still went on. From pirates to knights, swords to guns and from conquerors to conquered. It was just an inevitable relationship for the three boisterous nations.

However, a special event was ready to take place only a few centuries after their historic friendship was born.  
It was a cold winter evening when Gilbert suggested they take a walk through the nearby forest in Kaliningrad. Something about commemorating their friendship and the place where the they had first met.  
November had finally ended and the day seemed unusually bright for the them as they prepared to go on their hike. To their luck, the soft snow had almost reached its fourth inch, which meant that their usual conference for the week was cancelled. And thank God, too. Gilbert had always found it excessively mind-numbing having to sit through the same old lectures, even if he famously passed the time by flirting with the human maids.  
Though that was always fun, the humans' would always chat about the latest trends and fashions which the once great nation found rather dull but accepted over nothing. And each time, almost on cue, Gilbert would completely zone out about half way through. His mind usually drifting to thoughts of sweet rolls, beer and Christmas presents to buy for his harem of world countries.  
After an easy morning, the three decided to meet just at the entrance of the trail. Francis was the first to arrive, of course as he had the tendency to be the earliest riser of the three.  
He waved to the Prussian that came over next. Gilbert quickly noticed that Francis' hands were rustling about inside his pocket.  
What was he fiddling with a condom in there? The German was almost tempted to ask.  
"Did Antonio get your text?" Gilbert finally mentioned the second Francis came within ear shot. The Frenchman almost replied but a familiar shout came from another parked car in the distance.  
"Guys! Sorry I'm late!"  
"_Sacré bleu_...you're always the last one, _mom ami_!" Francis chuckled softly. They waited a moment for him to catch up.  
"Shall we be off?"  
The three shared a familiar grin and began their hike. They happily trudged through the mostly untouched snow.  
After walking for quite a while within the woods, cracking jokes, and sharing pictures, the forest seemed to clear as they noticed a curiously large and ominous cave around the bend.  
"WOW!" yelled Gilbert loudly. The cavern was rather massive, looking as if it could fit a plane within its hidden chambers. "Come on! Let's check it out!" He insisted as the two threw him rather sarcastic looks. "Come on!" He begged once more. And, after a bit of pleading and laughter, they decided to venture inside seemingly having the time of their lives. And I mean, after all, what could really go wrong?  
Well... the actual story began with an avalanche.

* * *

The snow and rocks tumbled down the side of the cliff menacingly, causing the countries to fall back in shock. "Is everyone alright?" called the Spaniard loudly helping up Francis who had fortunately landed beside him. "_Oui_, I'm okay! Where's Gilbert?" "Here!" yelled the German, hopping up off the ground and quickly jogging in the direction of his two close friends. "Shit!" He exclaimed as he eventually came to a halt as he eyed the gaping rock covering the cavern entrance.  
"Are we stuck in here?!" He asked anxiously.  
Spain knocked on the boulder in a harsh manner.  
"Hellooo? Can anyone hear us?"  
A few seconds of shouting quickly turned into about thirty minutes and Antonio turned to the other two in defeat. "I don't think we can get out of this one that easily, _mis amigos_..." The three gave a simultaneous sigh of frustration.  
The albino shut his eyes momentarily, trying his best not to go into an anxious fit. He started shivering moderately, causing Francis to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Gilbert was being naturally over dramatic, but that never seemed to stop his French mother-hen from worrying over the prideful German.  
"W-Well that's just fan-fucking-tastic." He half laughed before anxiously swallowing cold, dry air. "There's gotta be another way out of here, right? We'll freeze to death!"  
"I'm sure there's a way. We just have to look harder is all." interjected Antonio, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to keep them heated, though to no avail as it seemed practically impossible to keep anything warm in this weather.  
"Well we b-better find another w-way out quick...I don't think the three of us can handle this for long..."  
The Spaniard glanced behind them, noticing the long tunnel that advanced ahead. "It looks like we can continue down this path, though." He said as he nodded in it's direction.  
The Frenchman smiled mischievously and drew closer to Antonio. "Oh, are you cold _mon ami_? We could always share our body heat!" He purred as he walked a bit closer to the Spaniard. He wrapped his arms around him tightly. "Are you warm now~?"  
Spain laughed and hugged him back as if it were nothing. Gilbert smiled at his two companions. His stress levels lowering significantly. "L-Lets just get out of here." He dismissed. "This place is terrifyi- I-I mean totally boring..."  
Antonio, turning to look at the Prussia, nodded in agreement. "C'mon! _Vámanos_!"  
"Oh please no..." whined Francis. He could never really stand his singing.  
Antonio's Dora song was cut short by soft rustling in the deeper end of the cavern. He turned towards the noise curiously but was greeted by nothing other than the shrill and solitary backdrop of the cave.  
It was dark. In fact, too dark for Antonio's liking. And on top of that he couldn't shake the grim feeling which was currently bellowing in the pit of his stomach. Just as the he was about to lose interest, a shadow seemed to flicker across the light illuminating on the otherwise blackened cave walls. He hesitated for a moment before his interest suddenly peaked. He took a step forward.  
"_Un momento_, I'll be right back...!"  
Francis looked worried once more, losing his grip upon Antonio's shoulders as the other moved away. Although worried, he decidedly moved to entwine himself with the Prussian, who seemed to be completely unphased by the action. Gilbert shot a worried glance at Antonio. He was almost shot out of his field of vision. "W-Where are you going?! Get back here!"  
The albino continued to keep his eyes fixed on the other until Antonio completely disappeared from view. After several minutes of their fretting, the half annoyed and half concerned German just gave up trying to call for him altogether. "Totally un-awesome..." he mumbled in annoyance.  
"He'll be alright, so long as you've got me around!~" chirped Francis, loving the fluffy jacket that was encompassing the Prussian's form. Gilbert sighed at him.  
"Don't you think we should at least follow him? I-I mean...just in case something goes wrong? These walls really don't look that safe."  
"Well... if you insist-" Francis was cut off as the Prussian practically jumped out of his protective arms. "H-Hey! Gilbert m_on amour_, where are you going?!"  
Gilbert charged after the Spaniard, leaving Francis in his dust.

* * *

Meanwhile, Antonio continued searching for whatever it was that had caught his eye. He looked further down the cavern slowing his run to a comfortable jog. He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks; his friends slowly trailing behind him.  
"Hey! Toni, what was that all about?" questioned Gilbert suspiciously, finally catching up to him now that he had stopped moving.  
Spain however didn't hear them as his mind seemed to numb within the cold cavern air. An icy shiver crept up the Spaniard's spine.  
"_S-Santo...hijo de puta..._"  
The two came next to him and stopped in a similar manner to their companion. Francis and Gilbert's eyes went wide when their brains finally registered the sight before them. A frozen carcass of bones shone brightly before the trio. The remains of a corpse made brittle and dry by the freezing winter weather. There was still dried bits of blood soaked upon the tarnished clothing it wore and shallow rotten pieces of flesh were grossly obvious upon the almost petrified object that had crumbled with age.  
"_Mein gott_... What is that...?"  
Francis swallowed dryly as he quickly put a hand up to shield the stench. The smell was unbelievibly putrid and they barely barely had enough time to stop it before it wafted into their nostrils.  
"_Merde_... it stinks!"  
Antonio, though to be fair to him, had experienced enough death to be unphased. He calmly moved closer.  
"It looks like..." He peered at the 'uniform' it was wearing. Or at least what was left of it and glanced toward Gilbert for a moment. "Is it... One of yours?"  
The albino's breath hitched in his throat as he stared at the corpse before him. A frayed insignia from the country of Germany sat proudly on it's chest. He hesitated before reaching out to touch the broken warrior. "T-There's no doubt about it.."  
He took a step back and tried his best not to show the amount of confusion and anger he was feeling. Though from the way his body stiffened, the Prussian became as easy to read as an open book.  
Suddenly, Antonio began thinking aloud.  
"You know... I've seen lots of dead things in my life...but this...There's something off about this one...its wounded in certain ways, and i-it seems to be missing multiple limbs..."  
Gilbert shuttered at that. A small whimper escaped his lips, which caused Spain to turn to him with concern. "Are you alright _amigo?_ You're acting very strange."  
The German's disturbed gaze remained locked on the frozen carcass. "I-I...d-don't..."  
He slowly began to calm himself before speaking. "L-Lets... Lets j-just get out of here...please..." "_Sí_, this is a good idea but-"  
A calm hand settled on his shoulder. "I agree with Gilbert... T-This place is really starting to freak me out!"  
"Uh...well..." Antonio began, not sure as how to put his next choice of words. "I don't mean to scare anyone...But..." The Spaniard reassured quietly as complete reticence settled over the cavern. "I don't think we are the only one's here."  
There was silence.  
"W-What do you mean...?" Gilbert practically choked out as he glanced around the dim cavern hall.  
It was getting dark out and soon the three would have to rely on the light of their cellphones to navigate through the icy tomb.  
Antonio shivered, the cold already beginning to get to him. He laughed anxiously.  
"I don't k-k-know about y-you guys...b-but I'm not use t-to this kind of weather..." He laughed again.  
Though the dry humor was seemingly ignored as Gilbert and Francis, they began peering at something further down the tunnel.  
"What are you guys looking at?"  
"I...think you were right _mon ami_."  
"About what?" replied Antonio loudly. Gilbert was quiet. "About us not being alone in here. I can hear movement up ahead. Something's watching us." Francis pointed his finger in front of them. "And I think we should not be here to find out what-" "W-We should ask whoever it is to help us!" The Prussian finally piped up. "Maybe t-they know the way out. HEY!" yelled out Gibert, his voice bellowing down the cavern halls.  
"Gilbert, shush!" Antonio said, rushing to cover the German's mouth. "You think if they wanted to help us they would have already come forth, no?"  
Gilbert nodded his head in concession.  
"Right. And they haven't done that, right?"  
Gilbert shook his head and after a few moments the Spaniard finally released his grip on him. "S-So we just have to find a way out ourselves!"  
"R-Right...but w-where...?" said Gilbert even more louder than he intended, forcing Antonio to remind him of the importance of silence.  
Francis, on the other hand, had only just begun to wander a few steps in front of his companions before he realized that there was yet another problem to be dealt with.  
"My friends!" He called back, instantly grabbing their attention. "There seems to be a fork in the tunnel ahead...S-Should we split up? I think this is only a one way path so if we find an exit or a dead end, we could meet back in the middle, _non_?"  
Antonio responded cheerfully "_Sí_! Let's do that! That's a good plan!"  
The Prussian beside him gave them a ridiculous look. "Are you shitting me? That's a horrible idea!" He argued, gritting his teeth anxiously. "¿_Qué_? Why is that? It will cut our searching time in half. Let's do it!" Antonio cheered. "W-What? Y-You've got to be kidding-!" But before the Prussian knew it, Antonio had already left him to join Francis up ahead. He sighed in anguish and defeat. His friends couldn't possibly be this stupid, right?!  
After a few moments of shock, Gilbert finally followed, trying his best to ignore his gut feeling that this was a bad decision.  
"Okay, then it's settled! Which way should each of us go?"  
Antonio hummed, tapping his fingers upon his mouth in thought. "I-I think...I'll go to the right." He announced, taking a step towards the darkness of the path just as a small gust of wind hit his chest. "H-Hey!" He proclaimed.  
"There seems to be some air coming through!" He took another step away from them. "Why don't you two go down the left path, then?"  
"It seems we might be out of here quicker than we thought!"  
The words broke up a little as another gust of wind rolled in, causing the Spaniard to shiver once more. "I-It's so c-cold!" He exclaimed. "A-Are you sure you'll be okay, Toni?" repeated Gilbert nervously.  
Spain glanced over his shoulder as he walked away. "I'll be okay! Don't worry so much!" He replied with a laugh. And just like that, Antonio was gone.  
Gilbert and Francis couldn't do anything but worry for their wandering friend. Which was why when Antonio ultimately left their side, there was an awkward but knowing silence between the two companions.  
That is, before Francis finally spoke up.  
"Right then..." He said turning his attention back to the Prussian beside him. "Let's go, Gilbert!" He continued. "If we don't make it back in time, I'll have to blame you for standing up my date!"  
The Frenchman slowly pushed the other down the left side of the cavern, trying to keep the mood light by teasing the other and cracking stupid jokes. Though Gilbert seemed regretfully unaffected, he was too distracted by the situation to feel anything other than distress. He looked back down the right side of the cavern with worry, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Spaniard walking away but no avail. It was already blackening with the beginnings of dusk. His stomach began to flip, sending a horrid feeling of nausea straight to his brain. None of this felt right, but he knew they'd eventually find a way out and everything would be okay. After all it was just a silly cave! It wasn't like they'd be in here for long. No! It was really nothing to worry about! Tomorrow will be just as boring as the last!  
Gilbert mentally kicked himself for thinking otherwise. Nothing to worry about. Nothing.  
Or at least, that's what Gilbert thought.

* * *

_**Posted December 24, 2013**_

**Merry Christmas!**


End file.
